5 Reasons That Make Steel An Excellent Home Building Material

Owning a home is a dream many people hope to achieve. When the time comes, choose the best material for your house. This way, you’ll get value for the money invested, and your property will serve you for a long time. 

When selecting building materials for your new home, you’ll find several available on the market. While all have their advantages, some people may prefer steel over others. In this article, you’ll learn why this material is ideal for residential construction. 

Here are five factors that make steel preferable:

• Cost And Time-Saving 

Consider steel if you’re looking for a material that will save you time and money during construction. You’ll first work with a fabricator to create a design for your structure. This is by brainstorming design ideas and creating your home’s blueprint. 

After that, the fabricator will cut components of your structure into appropriate sizes and shapes. Luckily, steel is highly flexible compared with many other building materials. This makes it easy for fabricators to achieve any design, regardless of complexity. Every part of your structure will come marked to help ensure quick, easy, and accurate assembly. Once the steel pieces reach you, using blueprints to start your process is recommendable. This way, there’ll likely be fewer errors during your home construction. 

With prefabricated steel pieces, you’ll use less time to build your house. Besides that, you’ll save more money because you’ll require fewer people to assemble the pre-made components into a complete structure.

• Strength

Steel’s strength is one of the reasons it’s a popular residential building material. It’s known to have a higher strength-to-weight ratio. So, even though it may be lightweight, it’s usually much stronger than wood and many other building materials. 

Steel is also renowned for its ability to withstand pressure and tension, regardless of a building’s height. This is why it’s quite popular in areas that experience typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other extreme weather events. Besides, steel is non-combustible and fire-resistant. Moreover, it’s tough enough to withstand termites, rodents, and other pests. 

Overall, building with steel ensures your safety and your loved ones. Also, if you’re looking to lower your home’s insurance premiums, most companies offer discounts to people with steel buildings. This is because steel is less risky for insurers.

• Durability

People also love steel for its durability. As mentioned, it can withstand harsh weather and can’t get damaged by termites, rodents, and other pests. Also, this material doesn’t creep, crack, rot, split, expand or warp. Furthermore, it’s unlikely to get crushed by a tree falling on your house. These factors make steel homes last longer than those made of timber, bricks, and other building materials. 

That said, you must protect your steel building from moisture by applying a water-resistant material. This will prevent rusting, which can hinder the structure’s longevity. 

• Sustainability

It’s essential to consider the environment when choosing a building material. Steel is usually a preferred choice for many aspiring homeowners who are environmentally conscious. It’s because frames for a new house can be recycled from old appliances, industrial scrap, worn-out ship containers, unwanted vehicles or old buildings. 

Typically, steel can be recycled severally without losing essential properties such as its innate strength. Moreover, no piece is wasted during the process, regardless of its size. 

• Easy maintenance

Apart from withstanding extreme weather events, pests, and tree accidents, steel is quite easy to maintain. To take care of it, you must do repairs whenever necessary to prevent small concerns from escalating. 

Besides that, you also have to clean it at least once a year. This will help prevent dirt, dust, and other unwanted substances from building up. It’s also recommendable to repaint areas with scratches or unsightly marks. This will protect your structure from moisture exposure that could cause rusting or attract mold. 

You must also ensure water doesn’t accumulate around your building’s foundation. This will prevent moisture buildup around it, resulting in foundation rusting or shifting. Besides, it’ll ensure the steel frames don’t bend or get damaged due to weakening caused by corrosion. 

Direct water away from your building’s foundation using overhangs, gutters or downspouts. You could also consider an A-frame roof style if you live in a region where it snows often. 

Regular maintenance checks will make things easier for you. This will help you identify and timely rectify issues that may be problematic in the future. 

Final Thoughts 

Steel may be excellent to consider if you’re looking for building materials for your new home. In this article, you’ve learned why many people might choose steel over bricks, timber, and others. As seen, it’s because it’s stronger, more durable, sustainable, and easy to maintain. Also, building with prefabricated frames takes less time and helps you save on labor.